Beastiary of Peran
The High Princedom of Peran, with it's access to the Scarstone and Firepeak mountains, has encountered many strange monsters and creatures, mundane and magical in nature. These are some of the few creatures that are commonly encountered, or it's effects are commonly felt. Gruby Appearing more like a giant, legged and winged maggot than a grub, the Gruby shares it's name with the Pertak word for "ugly", and the two are effectively interchangable. Nontheless, the Gruby provides an incredible boon to Peran's mountain-dwelling citizens, and it is a creature that can excel at growing fat and large when herding along a mountain, and despite their frightening appearance are quite docile and easy to tame. The greatest boon is their incredibly tasty and nutritious meat, and nearly all parts of the Gruby are either edible are useful as other materials. Princely Griffon A large, proud breed of Griffon that is also unofficially known as the "Firebeak" Griffon to most other peoples in Thrae. The Princely Griffon is the symbolic animal of Peran, and considered almost sacred in some parts of the Princedom. Larger than most of it's cousins in Thrae, and much more fierce as a result, the Princely Griffon is a rather rare predator, hunting primarily Pegasi, humanoids, and gruby, among other prey. They have been known to fly all the way from the Firepeaks to the Caldy Vale in search of prey, and are incredibly vicious on the hunt. They prefer prey running, and so have developed a very iconic shriek that is meant to terrify prey into fleeing. The Griffon has been the customary mount of the Princes for centuries, and the line of Royal Griffons is as prestigious and long-lasting as any noble house. The griffons roost in the mountaintop Menagerie, and are given free reign to fly about the city and surrounding lands. It is incredibly important that they are given this freedom, as otherwise the Griffons grow up much smaller, incapable of flight, and unable to find wild mates to continue the line. Many roosts that now exist in Peran and beyond are due to griffons without an owner being let loose into the wild. Scarred Pegasus Due to the bright red wing-streaks that mark this Pegasus subspecies, and due to it being first discovered in the Scarstone mountains, this sub-species is known mostly for it's much more hostile temperament, and also for it's rather strange physiology. Indeed, it is actually omnivorous, and thus has been a rather annoying pest in some areas, where they have been known to kill and eat livestock and children. However, they are popular as battle-mounts for this reason, and many of the nobility in Peran buy foals for this direct purpose. Sewergrub Also known as the shitmaggot, the poopworm, and every other combination of excrement and insect, the shitmaggot is perhaps the unsung hero of Peran. It lives in many underground caverns in the mountains, but an insanely large colony lives deep beneath Marlholm itself. The sewer system of Peran leads to this cavern network, and nearly all of the human waste ends up covering these miracle worms. Though able to eat nearly anything they can get their mouths on, including metal, they seem to prefer waste. They process the waste into a fine dust, which many have noted is one of the finest fertilizers in all of Thrae. However, the process of gathering and harvesting this dust is so hazardous, unsanitary, and undesirable, that Peran still lacks the means to actually make use of it. Drakish Sparrow A small bird native to the highlands and mountains of Peran, the Drakish Sparrow is renown for it's ability to spurt gouts of flame naturally from it's beak. It uses this usually as a defense mechanism, and to cook insects It has been known to burn down homes and even entire villages when threatened, though they have recently been domesticated and are kept as pets and traveling companions. King of the Dark The terror of the mountain caves, the Kings of the Dark are the lords of the underground. They lurk in the dark places, silent and stalking despite their monstrous size. Though few in number, their presence can be felt all throughout the Firepeaks and Scarstone ranges, and many are the apex predators of their area, only truly finding competition in the fiercest monsters of Thrae. They are arachnid in shape and form, possessing numerous human-like hands which they use to clamber and climb through the various tunnels and caverns of the underground. Ruination of the Old Ones